


What I Wouldn't Do

by Smokeycut



Category: Batman - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Harper is a dork but what else is new, Highschool AU, Truth or Dare, slur mentions in one scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 15:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10665195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: When Cassandra Cain lands herself in Saturday detention, she doesn't think it'll be anything but trouble. Luckily for her, there's a girl who's dedicated to making her have fun.





	What I Wouldn't Do

Cassandra was in trouble. She looked over at her father, sitting in the driver's seat of the car, and scowled. She didn't think it was fair that she had to come to detention on Saturday, when she'd rather be at home watching the newest Stewart Galaxy episode with Tim. All she had done was break a boy's nose, and even then, he _deserved_ it. But Bruce and principal Walker didn't see it that way.

"Called me stupid," Cassandra seethed, staring at the school with contempt. Bruce had insisted that she attend Gotham Academy after her adoption was made official, promising her that they had the best special education program in the county. That clearly hadn't stopped her fellow students from being jerks, she noted angrily.

"I know," Bruce sighed, his expression soft as he looked at the back of Cassandra's head. "But that's not an excuse to hurt people. You know better than that."

"Do I?" His daughter shot back with a sneer. "I don't know... anything!" 

Before Bruce could respond, Cassandra had exited the car and slammed the door shut behind her. She walked up the steps and stomped into the building without looking back, but already felt regret for what she had said. She knew that Bruce didn't think she was stupid, but it was too late to apologize, a fact that she accepted bitterly.

When she entered the room that was being used for detention, a room completely alien to her, she saw that there was only one other student suffering the same fate as her. A girl with rather distinctive blue and purple hair, with half of her head shaved and the unshaved half reaching her jawline. She had silver piercings in her ears, nose, and just above her lip. Had Cassandra paid attention to school gossip, she'd immediately recognize the girl as Harper Row. The same Harper Row who discarded her relative popularity in favor of a new 'fuck you' attitude and a penchant for attacking homophobic classmates. Instead, Cassandra recognized Harper as the girl who was too cute not to stare at when she should be paying attention to the history teacher.

Had Harper paid attention to new students, she'd recognize Cassandra Cain-Wayne as the newest of the lot, the most recent Wayne child to be enrolled in the school, just last month. The same Cassandra Cain-Wayne who was in special education classes for english, math and science, and who was a frequent target of bullies as a result. Instead, Harper recognized Cassandra as the girl who slammed Zeke Franklin's head into her younger brother's locker three days ago.

Had either of them opted to take Home Economics, they'd recognize Mr. Lynns, the teacher who sat at the desk in the front of the room. The same Mr. Lynns who always fell asleep five minutes into detention. Instead, they recognized him as the man with the horribly ugly Minions tie. 

The teacher was typing away at his computer, paying no mind to Cassandra as she tossed her backpack onto a desk and took a seat. He merely grunted in acknowledgment of her arrival and kept googling images of Patrick Swayze. Harper, being bored out of her mind and having already finished her homework the night before, glanced over at Cassandra and watched as the new girl began doodling in a sketchbook. She didn't have the best view, but she could see enough to know that it was a drawing of someone with a sword.

"Hey," Harper whispered, reaching across and poking Cassandra's arm. "What's that?"

Cassandra looked like a deer in headlights, shocked that the other girl was bothering to talk to her. It took her a few seconds of staring nervously and stumbling over her words before she managed to squeeze an answer out of herself. 

"Rey. She's a... science hero," She mumbled, showing Harper a few more drawings. "My... brother, um, showed me Star Wars," she elaborated. 

"Oh, cool. My brother and I saw the new one in theaters." Harper smiled genuinely, which Cassandra could tell. It put the new student at ease, and she returned Harper's grin with a small smile of her own. "You draw anything else?" Harper asked.

Cassandra nodded in affirmation and flipped to another page in her sketchbook, showing Harper a ballerina she had drawn the night before. "I like dancing," she explained. 

"You're good. At drawing, I mean. I haven't seen you dance, so I don't know how good you are at that." Harper immediately kicked herself mentally, realizing how bad that sounded. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! I mean I'm sure you're good at dancing, I just haven't seen it so uh... I'm just gonna be quiet now."

"That would be preferable," the teacher snarked, still staring at his computer monitor.

Cassandra didn't take offense to Harper's fumble. In fact, she found herself having to stifle a laugh. "I'm better at it... than drawing. My brother draws good. I dance," she whispered. Stopping for a moment to think, Cassandra asked Harper a question in turn. "Why are you... here?"

"I punched a guy in the face after he called my brother a faggot," Harper admitted with a sigh.

"A what?" Cassandra asked innocently. She could tell from context that it must be something mean, like the kids who called her stupid or slow or called her an idiot, or any of the other ways they insulted her intelligence. 

Harper gave Cassandra a strange look, one that she was used to getting. The way people looked at her every time she asked a dumb question, Cassandra bemoaned. It lasted for only a second before Harper figured it was just something Cassandra was lucky enough not to have heard before.

"They insulted him for liking other boys," she explained simply. "For some reason they pick on him for not being straight, but leave me alone. I decided to change that." 

"Oh. They're... jerks."

"Yeah. Yeah they are," Harper muttered, more to herself than to Cassandra. "What about you? Why'd you beat the shit out of that kid?"

Cassandra scowled and looked away, focusing on her backpack. "Called me stupid," she growled.

Harper hadn't said anything, but their conversation had already led to her assuming Cassandra was in special ed classes. It'd explain their lack of classes together, and being set off by an insult to her intelligence would make sense. She decided not to press the matter.

"Yeah, well fuck him. I say you're cool," Harper quietly announced. She couldn't have known how much that simple statement meant to Cassandra, but the sudden hug she found herself part of made it fairly clear. When they separated, Harper took notice of Mr. Lynns, who was drooling on his desk, out like a light. With a mischievous grin, Harper glanced at her newfound friend. "You up for some teenage rebellion?" 

Cassandra looked at her, confused for a moment, before Harper grabbed her bag, crossed the room and opened the door, pressing a finger to her lips for dramatic effect. 

"Oh," Cassandra gasped, before looking at the teacher, worry etched across her face. "Will we... get in trouble?"

"Not if we're careful," Harper whispered with a grin. "C'mon. Let's have some fun."

In an instant, Cassandra's anxiety turned to mischievous excitement as she slung her own backpack over her shoulder and followed Harper out into the hallway. The blue haired girl took Cassandra's hand and led her to the girl's bathroom, not noticing the growing blush on Cassandra's cheeks. She pointed at a window on the other end of the tiled room and slid it open, ushering Cassandra through before following her outside. It was then that Harper decided to let loose, now that no teacher could hear her.

"WOO! Always wanted to sneak out of detention!" She exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Cassandra's shoulders and smiling wide, taking a deep breath of the crisp fall air. 

"What now?" Cassandra asked simply. 

Harper's face froze, before she looked off into the distance, eyebrows furrowed. "Shit. Didn't think that far. You ever play truth or dare?" She suggested.

"No. But... okay," Cassandra decided. "You first." 

"Alright then." Harper spun on her feel and faced Cassandra. "Dare."

"Follow." With that, the smaller girl took off, running for the trees on the edge of the school's grounds. She scaled a large oak tree quickly, taking a seat on a strong looking branch, and waited for Harper to catch up. Harper, having grown up in the middle of a city, had never climbed a tree before, and so had a much harder time. But with a bit of help from the girl above her, she managed to find her way up, though not without a few scrapes.

"Okay," Harper chuckled, leaning back against the tree trunk and looking at Cassandra. "Your turn. Truth or dare?" 

"Dare." Cassandra grinned, all toothy and wide, excited for whatever Harper came up with.

Harper thought for a moment, studying Cassandra and wondering what the best dare would be. Nothing extreme, not yet anyways, but something to help this friendship along. After a few seconds, she found it.

"You said you dance, right? Then dance. I wanna see how good you are," she said with a gentle smile. 

Cassandra's eyes went wide, surprised, but she soon found herself trying once more to hide her blushing as she descended from the tree branch. Once she was on solid ground, she found a good, even spot to showcase her skills. With a quick glance up at Harper to make sure she was watching, Cassandra began. She started with simple techniques, but soon progressed to more difficult steps. Unbeknownst to Harper, she was performing her favorite part of the ballet _Coppélia_. When she came to rest, Harper began applauding, and Cassandra couldn't help but smile and blush at the attention. It was the first time any of her fellow students had shown her genuine appreciation, rather than mocking her or laughing at her shortcomings. 

"That was great!" Harper exclaimed, dropping down from her perch and stumbling on landing. She hugged Cassandra tight before moving the game along, causing the black haired girl to blush brighter as she hugged Harper back. "Okay, okay, let's see... truth."

"Um... do you have... family?" Cassandra remembered Harper's comment about having a brother, but being new to her own family, she was eager to know more. She walked back over to the oak tree and sat down on the grass, crossing her legs and enjoying the cool fall breeze. Harper joined her, leaning against the tree.

"Yep," Harper answered. "Me, my mom and my little brother, Cullen. He goes here too." The girls were quiet for a moment as the answer hung in the air, both knowing that Harper had left something out. Harper tensed up, and with a sigh, she finished. "My dad is in prison. Mom divorced him a few years back, and he ended up getting arrested not long after."

"Mine too..." Cassandra admitted. "My... birth dad. And mom. I was, um, adopted... last year," she explained. "I have brothers now. Dick, Jason, Duke, Tim, Damian." 

"Wait, what? Tim, as in Tim Drake? _He's?_ your brother? I've been friends with him since we were twelve!" Harper laughed as Cassandra nodded enthusiastically, glad that Cassandra had turned the conversation around after it's brief detour into uncomfortable territory. It was also comforting, in an odd way, to know that she wasn't the only student with a criminal parent. "Alright then, you next. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." It was only fair, Cassandra thought. Plus, it was nice opening up to Harper. She didn't have many people to talk to outside of her family, and the potential for a new friend was just about the best thing she could imagine.

"Did you grow up in Gotham?" 

"No. Don't... know where," Cassandra admitted. "Nobody... told me. Came here after... ran away."

"Shit. Your childhood sounds really rough. Things are okay now though, right?" Concern was etched across Harper's face, and Harper's body language matched. 

Cassandra nodded, smiling softly. "New family now. They're nice. School is nice too. Sometimes," she added the last word with a bit of contempt, no doubt referring to the bullies who enjoyed harassing her.

"You didn't go to school before now?" Harper asked gently, worried she might be pushing Cassandra too much. Rather than getting upset, however, Cassandra merely chose to ignore the question and move on. Her silence was answer enough.

"Your turn. Truth? Dare?"

"Dare. Let's have some fun."

"Dare you..." Cassandra looked back at the school. "Steal Minions tie."

The look that spread across Harper's face could only be described as one of pure elation. Without a word, she bolted back to the bathroom window they had snuck out of, climbed back inside, and vanished. Cassandra waited with bated breath for Harper to come back, but as the minutes went by, anxiety set in and questions raced through her head. What if Harper got caught? What if she didn't like spending time with her, and used this as an excuse to ditch her? 

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Harper popped back through the window, tacky looking tie in hand. The blue haired girl dropped onto the ground and laughed, tossing the tie to Cassandra and wrapping her arm around the younger girl. 

"Your turn," she purred.

"Truth," Cassandra whispered, cuddling Harper as best as she could while trying not to make it obvious.

Harper paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the girl who had quickly become her friend. The girl who she now knew better than anyone else in the school, all because of a game of truth or dare. Now that she had noticed Cassandra, she realized how cute she was. How expressive her eyes were, constantly brimming with emotion. The way she wore her heart on her sleeve, never holding back how she felt. How soft her lips looked... 

There was only one question on Harper's mind.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" 

"No," Cassandra answered. "Your turn."

"Truth," Harper decided without a second thought.

"Are we friends?" Cassandra asked nervously, glancing down, then back at Harper.

"Of course," Harper reassured her, adding a hug for good measure. Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment that Cassandra went to step away, leading to her accidentally pulling Harper on top of her, leading to Harper pushing Cassandra to the ground. The end result? Harper laying on top of Cassandra, faces inches apart.

"Dare," Cassandra whispered.

"Kiss me," Harper whispered back.

Cassandra didn't hesitate, and she certainly didn't have any complaints when she found Harper's tongue piercing. When they untangled themselves and sat back down, the silence that hung between them was charged in a way neither had experienced before. When Harper took Cassandra by the hand and led her back inside, Cassandra held on as tightly as she could, hoping with all her heart that this wasn't a dream. When they took their seats and saw that Mr. Lynns was still fast asleep, the laughs they shared set them both at ease. When Mr. Wayne arrived to pick up his daughter, he was surprised to find that she brought a friend with her. He didn't know that they were more than that, but they knew. That was enough.

When they sat in Cassandra's bedroom that night, watching Star Wars and painting each other's nails, sharing kisses as they dried... that was when they both knew there was a good reason they ended up in detention.


End file.
